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The Strategy Behind the Starting Poker Hand
Most who enjoy the game of poker know how important the starting hand can be to your game. The best strategy to have is to wait for a great starting hand before becoming involved in the game at all. Often this strategy is lost due to a lack of patience when practicing the game. Most players get too caught up in a good hand and forget to wait for a great hand.
The most important way to start a game is to understand when you should play your starting hand. By waiting for great cards you will increase your odds of winning considerably. When you have the patience to wait for outstanding cards, you will increase your odds just by waiting to play those cards because your opponents will play more hands that are less impressive. If your competition is playing their cards 50% of the time during a game and you are only playing 20% of the time naturally you will be saving money throughout the game, putting you ahead. If you choose to exercise good patience you will also decrease the amount of money you put into play and have the ability to make more on the hands you do choose to play.
All poker players should keep in mind that there are no set rules or instructions on how many starting hands you should play. This number will always change because the game is never going to be dealt identically. One game you may have 30 excellent hands and another you may only have 10 exceptional hands to play. The one thing to keep in mind while you are playing is to question if each hand you are playing is an exceptionally good hand.
The number one thing to do when you are seated at a table is to establish how loose or tight the table you are it is. This is helpful when deciding what hands could be considered excellent or not so excellent. A loose table will allow you to play more hands that you would want to question if you were sitting at a tight table and vice versa. The loose table increases your odds of winning with good (not great) cards, where a tight table makes winning a pot with good cards less likely. Another odds increaser is if you are seated late in play at the table, where as if you are seated earlier in play you should wait and play only your best hands. When a player limps in ahead of you your odds of winning against him or her is again increased but if the player jumps in hard you can count on him or her having a great hand and your odds are again decreased. If you choose to play a raised pot you should always double check to make sure you have a winning hand as these are more difficult to win.
It is also necessary to determine your skill level when deciding whether or not to play a hand. Novice players should try to be more patient in waiting for really great hands than an experienced player would be. Well seasoned players have more post flop skill to rely on than the novice player does. An advanced player will have more playing experience in making good decisions when it comes to the flop, turn and river as well as when to fold before becoming too invested in a particular hand - us poker sites.
Many poker players have found that certain statistical tracking software such as Poker Tracker and Poker Stat help them in learning their playing habits. These software programs can also help is studying your regular opponent’s habits as well. Never stop analyzing the play of yourself and your opponents. By keeping track of how often your fellow players are playing their starting hands you can gain knowledge of how often you should be playing your starting hands. The general rule to playing a starting hand in poker is 15-25% of the time; if you are a beginner you should rely on patience and try to stay at the lower end of this percentage. However if you are an advanced player you can play your starting hand a bit above 25% of the time and still come out ahead in the end if you play smart us poker sites.